Mettlesome Pt ONE
by WichitaRed
Summary: Sometimes it is a good thing Kid and Heyes are family...because one of them can be pretty mettlesome at times


"I tell ya Heyes that robbery went off slick as cow drool." Wheat chortled smiling as he tied his bed roll up.

"It did. Didn't it." Heyes replied throwing forth a laughing smile. "Went even better then I planned." He set to whistling as he rolled up his own blankets.

"We got up here in the caves without hide nor hair of any sort of posse." Lobo put in setting a pot of coffee on the low banked fire.

"We's lucky to have a leader like you Heyes." Kyle put in glancing over at the Kid. "Ya think Kid is feeling alright?"

Hannibal Heyes stood up tucking his bedroll under his arm and turned to look at Kid Curry burrowed deep under his blankets with his hat pulled over his head. With a twitch of his mouth, he shrugged and walked over toeing Kid's backside. "Rise and shine Kid."

"You poke me with your boot again I'm going to rise a shiner up on you."

Heyes shot a raised eyebrow look at Kyle then squatted down next to his kin, "You doing alright." Heyes asked poking Kid in the shoulder and as he did his nose wrinkled recalling the fall Kid had taken the day before. "You hurt?"

"I'm fine. Just let me be for a while."

Heyes pursed his lips, stood and went to tie his bedroll on his saddle. He noticed the other members of the gang had heard Kid's bad humor and they were all distinctly avoiding even noticing the gunslinger, as he stayed burrowed in his bed.

Picking up the coffee pot, Heyes poured two cups and walked back over setting one down next to the Kid's perfectly clean Colt. "Time to get up." He took a sip of his own coffee.

"Go away Heyes."

Heyes took a step away and quirking a crooked one-sided grin, he turned, stepping over Kid he squatted down facing him this time. "That was a hell of a fall you took out of the boxcar yesterday." He took another sip and lifted Kid's hat off his face revealing the colorful bruising. "Course catching the door frame with your face sure didn't slow you down none."

Kid growled and rolled over, seeing the other Devil's Hole members now looking his direction he rolled back over to glare at his cousin. "Go away."

"I told you them spurs weren't a good idea." Heyes said blandly taking another sip of coffee.

Kid gave him the look and Heyes laughed, patting him on the shoulder, "Come on Kid, you got to admit it was funny in its own way. I bet there is five hundred dollar spread across the plains. Imagine how happy some folk are going to feel, when they find the money that blew off in the wind, when the bag flew out of your hands."

"I'm telling you I am in no mood to hear you recount it at all." Kid said sitting up, throwing the look at the other members of the gang; at which, they all went about their own business pointedly ignoring him again.

"I recall seeing…oh what was his name?" Heyes took a larger drink from his metal cup. "You know that little cowhand who would dress up so to go into town."

Kid picked up his own coffee cup his eyes flat and cold, "Why don't you go bother someone else and stop jabbering at me like a magpie."

"Right on the tip of my tongue….his name." Heyes sat down crossing his legs, so he could lean his elbows on his knees. "Teddy. That was it. Recall him?"

Kid took another drink of coffee.

"Well do you?"

"If I say I do, will you go away?"

"Ha." Heyes slapped Kid on the shoulder. "You do remember him. Anyway he was always tripping his self on those fancy rowels. He'd catch one on the other or snag them in his chaps. Yup, I knew there was a reason I told you them spurs were a bad idea."

Kid touched at the side of his face and winced.

"Hurt bad?"

His blue eyes stared blankly at Heyes.

"Just showing concern."

"No you ain't." Kid said throwing back his blanket. "Your over here being mettlesome because you know you were right."

Heyes raised his eyebrows and attempted to frown, "Mettlesome. Hmm? Maybe you do listen to me sometimes."

Kid shook his head, "Yeah mettlesome and I tell you if'n you keep up I'm going to test out your mettle by flattening you down some."

Heyes stood up, shaking his head, "Geez Kid I was only showing you concern but hellfire if your going to wake up so cantankerous I think I will just leave you for better company."

"Good! That's what I been telling you to do all along."

Heyes walked away but halting a few steps out of range, he looked back, "So you going to be wearing them spurs again today?"

"Heyes I'm warning you."

"A simple yes or no would do Kid. You don't need to warn me, hell I know now to stay clear of you when you got them on. Lucky you didn't drag me down out of that boxcar with you the way you went pinwheeling out of it." A coffee cup dinged off the cave wall as Heyes side-stepped his cousins throw. "Good to know your aim at throwing ain't that great."

The other outlaws had meandered to the front of the cave to saddle horses as the leaders talked and hearing the coffee cup hit the wall, Kyle said, "Seems he got the Kid up."

"Appears so." Preacher nodded, throwing Kid's saddle on his horse. "Good thing them two be related or we might have been minus one mettlesome leader this morning."

"Would losing Heyes really be a bad thing?" Wheat asked his deep voice echoing back into the cave.  
"Wheat!" Kid growled. "You know what I've said about speaking against Heyes."

Heyes beamed over at his cousin.

With a shake of his head, Kid gave up and smiled back, "Yeah, you are mettlesome but I'm the only one allowed to speak poorly of you."

"Thanks Kid."


End file.
